Posted by
Longplay on Saturday, September 20, 2008 7:48:43 PM
Kathleen Parker, whose thoughts I usually enjoy, really does have me worried by her latest offering, "A Time to Worry", but not for the reasons she outlines.
The disappointing article shows the tendency of too many on conservative side to want everything perfectly pure even though it means losing; of making the perfect the enemy of the good; of calling people with bad ideas merely misguided.
Reading it really does make me worry,
She starts by stating:
"Confession: I love Barack Obama and I love Sarah Palin — both for different reasons. They both also scare me to death. I love Obama for his style, grace, intellect, and his way with words. I want the healing power that an Obama presidency could deliver to this country."
She follows this by listing things about Obama that fly in the face of the traits she just claimed for him.
Obama may have style but he has neither true grace nor intellect. In Obama, "grace", when it even appears, takes the form condescending quiet talk and a hand rudely and manipulatively placed on someone's shoulder.
And his "intellect" is a figment of the imagination of a populace with little intellect itself. If ones intellect understands the world incorrectly, how is that intellect? Why do conservatives with real wisdom, and who constantly speak of the ills in our educational system of grade inflation and "self esteem" (read "ego inflation"), insist on declaring Obama "brilliant"? He isn't.
"Healing power"? Where has that ever been in evidence in Obama's career or campaign? Nowhere.
Where's the grace, intellect, or healing power in:
Playing the race card by falsely accusing others of playing it.
Accusing regular-joe, hard-working Americans of clinging to guns and religion out of frustration.
on and on ...
Ms. Parker finishes by stating, "Whatever happens, we may deserve what we get. On the other hand, maybe there’s still time to wise up: Obama boots Biden and taps Clinton; McCain dumps Palin and picks Romney. It’s a concept."
It may be a concept, but just as with Obama's "grace" and "intellect", it's not a good one.
We do indeed need to "wise up", as in "getting wisdom".